An Affair of the Arts Performance and Gala
Benefits YoungArts
Saturday, January 14, 2012 at 6 p.m.
Olympia Theater at the Gusman Center
174 East Flagler Street, Downtown Miami
J.W. Marriott Marquis Miami Hotel
255 Biscayne Boulevard Way, Miami
305-377-1140
YoungArts is the core program of the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts (NFAA). It is the signature program that recognizes and supports America’s most talented 17 and 18 year olds in the visual, literary and performing arts. The mission is to identify emerging artists and assist them at critical junctures in their educational and professional development, and to raise the appreciation for and support of the arts in American society.
Each January, Miami hosts 150 of the nation’s best and brightest young artists during YoungArts Week. All around the city, the 2012 YoungArts awardees will take master classes, bond with their peers and then take leave as another shining star in the art world. The public will enjoy nightly performances and exhibitions at the New World Center, Colony Theater, Miami Art Museum and the Van Dyke Café.
The week culminates with the annual An Affair of the Arts Performance and Gala, which showcases the young artists’ achievements and gives them the opportunity to be recognized by an appreciative audience. The Gala is also a critical fundraiser for YoungArts, spotlighting Miami’s role in the organization’s continued success for more than 30 years.
The evening will begin at the Gusman Center for Performing Arts where a select group of national YoungArts alumni will perform. Honors will be given to Robert Redford, actor, director, activist, founder of Sundance Institute + Film Festival, Arison Awardee; Doug Aitken, 1986 YoungArts winner and acclaimed multimedia artist, Alumni Awardee; and, Robert L. Lynch, President & CEO of Americans for the Arts, YoungArts Leadership Award recipient.
After the performance, guests will follow the red carpet to the Marriott Marquis for dinner and dancing and a treasure-filled silent auction. The awardees and national finalists will join guests during the evening’s festivities in celebration of more than 30 years of discovering excellence in the arts.
Honorary Gala Chairs are Micky and Madeleine Arison and J.W. “Bill” and Donna Marriott, Jr. Gala Committee Chairman is Maurice M. Zarmati, President & CEO, Costa Cruise Lines Inc. Tickets begin at $650; tables range from $6,500 to $50,000. Call or email for more information: 305-377-1140 or gala@youngarts.org.
About YoungArts
Founded in 1981 by the late Ted Arison and his wife, Lin, YoungArts is the core program of the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts (NFAA). The organization’s mission is to identify the next generation of emerging artists in the performing, visual, and literary arts, to provide educational enrichment and assistance in their pursuit of the arts, and to raise the appreciation for and support of the arts in American society. At the request of The Commission on Presidential Scholars, which is appointed by the President of the United States, NFAA serves as the exclusive nominating agency for the U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts, the country’s highest honor in the arts given to high school seniors.
The YoungArts program has honored over 16,000 young artists with more than $6 million in monetary awards and nearly $84 million in college scholarship opportunities. Alumni include actresses Viola Davis, Kerry Washington and Vanessa Williams; four-time Tony Award nominee Raúl Esparza; star of HBO’s Entourage Adrian Grenier; recording artists Josh Groban, Nicki Minaj and Chris Young; Executive Director of the American Ballet Theatre Rachel Moore; and internationally acclaimed multimedia artist Doug Aitken.
